As the ninth elder brother and his party set off, the fourth elder brother and Qi Xi also handed over the coupons to the emperor.
The two of them talked about the elder brother's departure, and they were worried about his elder brother's trip, so they arranged extra manpower.
The fourth elder brother is the prince's elder brother who stayed in Beijing, and is also the elder brother of the ninth elder brother and the tenth elder brother. He has the responsibility to report this matter to the emperor.
As for Qi Xi, it was rare for him to go out of his way and interfere in the affairs of the prince's son-in-law, so it would be better to make a report.
On the same day, the letter was sent out of Beijing by the Vehicle and Horse Department of the Ministry of War, and it was not delivered to the southern patrol team until the ninth day of March.
At this time, the southern patrol fleet had not only passed Huai'an Prefecture, but also Yangzhou Prefecture, and was anchored at Jiangtian Temple in Zhenjiang.
This is a thousand-year-old temple built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It was originally named "Zexin Temple". In the 25th year of Kangxi's reign, the emperor inscribed "Jiangtian Temple" and gave it a plaque of "Jiangtian Temple", so it was renamed "Jiangtian Temple".
However, since the Tang Dynasty, the people around it have been accustomed to calling it Jinshan Temple.
"The White Snake fought against Fa Hai, and the water flooded the Jinshan Temple. This is the 'Jinshan Temple'..."
Shu Shu supported the Queen Mother and climbed up the steps, telling allusions to Jinshan Temple.
The Queen Mother listened with great interest and said: "I know this. The White Lady lost and was imprisoned in Leifeng Pagoda."
Shu Shu said: "Yes, Leifeng Pagoda is right next to the West Lake in Hangzhou. I just happened to see it this time."
The Queen Mother shook her head and said: "This great monk Fa Hai is too meddlesome. Even if the White Lady is a demon, she is also a good demon, and she is a disciple of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, and she will not harm anyone!"
White Snake has two masters, one is Old Mother Lishan before she came out of the mountain, and the other is Guanyin Bodhisattva when she walks in the world.
The "Legend of the White Snake" has endured for a long time in later generations, also because in everyone's eyes, the White Snake did no harm to anyone, she was just here to repay a favor.
But what Fahai did was to break up the couple regardless of good or bad.
When Shu Shu was a child, she watched it and felt that Fahai was the villain and that Xu Xianer was weak and let down the White Snake.
But when I grew up, I discovered the blind spots I had back then.
That is Xiaoqing's love.
Xiaoqing fell in love with scholar Zhang Yutang, and the two were in love, but Zhang Yutang was poisoned by snake venom and almost died.
Later, the two separated and Zhang Yutang was safe.
This also proves that human beings and monsters cannot coexist.
White Snake is a monster that has been transformed into a fairy. Fahai only saw the monster in Xu Xian and could not predict that he would not be able to harm his body, so Fahai's position is not wrong.
When Shu Shu gets older, she will realize that everything else is just appearances, and identity is the decisive factor in determining one's attitude.
Fahai is a disciple of the Buddhist sect. He is opposed to the Taoist sect and would fight for nothing, let alone stand up for justice.
In addition to the White Snake, the other allusion to Jinshan Temple is the 10-year-old sage Yang Mingzi's "Ode to the Golden Mountain".
A bit of Jinshan is as big as a fist, breaking the sky under the water in Huaiyang.
Drunkly leaning on the wonderful high platform to watch the moon, the jade flute blows through the cave where the dragon sleeps.
The Queen Mother has never liked poetry because she can't understand it.
Now, Shu Shu recited this, and her old man understood it and praised: "This poem is well done and it is explained clearly."
Wu Fujin and Jiu Gege looked at each other. They had read many poems and naturally they could tell the quality of the poems.
This song "Ode to the Golden Mountain" may sound superficial at first, but upon reflection you will find that it is majestic, beautiful, and just like everyone else.
Jinshan Temple is under martial law today and there are no outsiders.
Everyone accompanied the Queen Mother to offer incense.
One is peace incense and three is Dharma incense.
Shu Shu asked for a stick of incense, but when she was putting on the incense, she found that she had asked for a lot of things.
May I have a safe delivery.
I pray that Concubine Yi will give birth safely.
May Qifu Jin have a safe delivery.
May Amma live a long life.
I wish Amu good health.
I wish Brother Jiu a safe journey.
Shu Shu's expression remained unchanged, and she felt extremely embarrassed.
But it also gave rise to a trace of expectation.
This is the magic and greatness of faith, which can bring people peace and hope.
After all the female relatives had invited incense, they went to the side hall to offer lamps.
The lamps are divided into one hundred and eight for Dzogchen and seven for Small Perfection.
The Queen Mother told the two concubines: "This year is the Emperor's birthday, so I will offer you a Small Perfection. When the Emperor reaches his sixtieth birthday, I will offer him a Great Perfection."
Concubine Duanshun said: "It is said that there are many temples in the south of the Yangtze River. If each family continues to make offerings, the Small Perfection will become the Great Perfection."
Princess Shuhui said: "Anyway, we follow the example of the empress. If the empress offers more, we will follow her. If the empress offers less, we will follow the example."
The Queen Mother told the Zhike monk here and offered seven lamps for a year.
Two concubines, two concubines, two nobles, three princes Fujin, and one princess were all enshrined in descending order.
The two concubines and concubines have five cups, and the others have three cups.
Seven taels of sesame oil are needed to provide lamps day and night, which is the origin of the so-called "sesame oil money".
It was less than expected. The empress dowager's sesame oil money was ninety taels of silver, the money for the concubine, concubine Hui, and concubine Rong was sixty-four taels, and the money for Shu Shu and the others was thirty taels.
Shu Shu followed boredly, silently calculating in her mind and arriving at an estimated price.
This sesame oil is priced at eighty cents per catty.
I don't know how much the price differs from the price outside.
*
In the Zen room, Kangxi was having tea with the abbot.
Kangxi read a lot of books and dabbled in Buddhism and Taoism.
Seeing the old monk's majestic appearance, Kangxi thought of the Zen masters from several monasteries in Huai'an Prefecture.
It's really a different scene.
The monk there is as skinny as an ascetic; the one here is indeed like Maitreya.
Across the river, people in the north of the Yangtze River are experiencing many hardships, and the Huanghuai area is also plagued by constant floods. When it reaches the Yangtze River, only the scene of prosperity is left.
Jiangnan is rich and prosperous, and its taxes and taxes are the highest in the world.
The more this is the case, the more stability is needed.
That's fine too.
He thought about the rain information that Cao Yin and Li Xu had recently handed over. The rain was suitable and the spring plowing was smooth. This year was a good year.
Kangxi was in a good mood. He didn't feel annoyed when he looked at the fat old monk and listened to the development of Jiangtian Temple in the past ten years.
After the fast meal, Kangxi returned to the ship and saw the letter from Si Age and Qi Xi.
Kangxi snorted coldly, not surprised that the ninth elder brother "welcomed" him.
Because Brother Jiu had mentioned it in his letter before.
At that time, Kangxi wanted to order him to stay in Beijing, but he was soft-hearted and ignored him. Unexpectedly, he could not indulge, and even brought his ten princes and his wife with him.
"He really doesn't know the importance of it. He hasn't even left the house yet, yet he dares to lead others out in such a big way!"
Kangxi looked at it and felt unhappy. He followed Liang Jiugong and complained: "The tenth brother is the same. He doesn't have any idea. How can he follow this nonsense?"
Setting off on the second day of the wedding, even the "returning gifts" are omitted, making it easier for the Mongolians to choose gifts.
Liang Jiugong said: "This... is all brothers' filial piety..."
Kangxi laughed angrily and said, "Don't say nice things for them. Where is the filial piety? They just want to take advantage of the opportunity to have fun!"
Seeing that he was in a better mood, Liang Jiugong was really annoyed and said: "Then Jiu Fujin, can you use your servants to inform him?"
Kangxi thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Forget it, we'll find out when the people arrive. If I told you in advance, I'd just worry about it."
Who can rest assured?
Qi Xi was such a cautious person that he couldn't help but arrange for his son to take the nursing home with him.
Fourth Prince even sent out the vests from Baylor Mansion.
However, for this reason, Kangxi discovered that there was indeed no old man around Brother Jiu to help him.
Brother Ninth himself is not a stable person, so no wonder everyone is worried.
On the other hand, there is Yin De who can be used by the Tenth Prince.
Ninth Brother's uncles...
Thinking of Guo Guiren, Kangxi gave up the idea again.
Brother Ninth asked his brother-in-law to be the master of ceremonies, so a stable person would be appointed for the ceremony.
Kangxi made a note in his mind.
*
In the Queen Mother's boat, Shu Shu was also thinking about her ninth elder brother.
If you set out on the third day of March, where are you now?
Have you been to Jinan?
She recalled how she was on the road during her northern tour last year. Riding a carriage, it was easy to travel sixty to eighty miles a day, but it was harder to get up early and work late at night if it was one hundred to one hundred and twenty miles.
I don’t know what the daily speed of Ninth Brother and the others is going south this time.
If Brother Jiu was here, he would proudly tell her that it was one hundred and sixty miles a day!
There are inns along the official road, one for forty miles.
Except for the third day of March, because we set off at noon, we only traveled eighty miles that day.
On other days, I pass four stops every day.
After Qi Xi sent people off and Si Age sent people off, the entire team already numbered more than 170 people.
Brother Jiu had made a plan before setting off, and arranged for people to go to Qiantou Station one day in advance to take care of things.
Because food and feed are the big ones.
After hearing this, Gao Bin took the initiative to ask for orders and take charge of the matter.
But because he didn't have enough status, Zhu Liang went with him.
Although he is not a mature man, he has already made up for the lack of a fourth-grade assistant leader.
Therefore, every morning, Gao Bin and Zhu Liang took twenty guards and set off first to arrange various supplies at the inn.
The others then set off, fed their horses at the second station at noon, and continued on their way in the afternoon.
In five and a half days, we arrived in Jinan.
Although it's all official, this carriage can kill people if it's running.
Brother Jiu felt that his body was about to fall apart. When he arrived at the inn, he lay down and groaned.
The tenth brother was worried. When he came over to take a look, he heard the ninth brother telling He Yuzhu: "Turn the hat inside out, a mask as well, and gloves for tomorrow..."
The tenth brother was confused and worried, so he stepped forward and touched the ninth brother's forehead: "Ninth brother, you have a fever, are you feeling unwell?"
Otherwise, what kind of masks and gloves should I wear in the car?
The ninth elder brother was like a puddle of mud, refusing to move. He raised his eyelids and looked at the tenth elder brother and said, "Huh! Are you thinking of me now?"
Seeing that he didn't have a high fever and still had the energy to quarrel, the tenth brother felt relieved, sat down by the kang, and defended himself: "This... Fujin doesn't have a companion, and it's hard for my brother to leave her alone."
Since the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Shi Fujin has refused to ride in the car, so Brother Shi will accompany him on horseback, and the two of them will ride in pairs.
Looking at it, Brother Jiu felt more and more lonely.
Brother Jiu glanced at him with disgust and said, "Just ride a horse, but your life is too rough. You are exposed to the strong sun every day, and you are not afraid of getting tanned."
The tenth prince smiled and said: "My younger brother tried to persuade Fujin, but she said she couldn't get a tan."
Looking at it these days, it is really like this.
My fair and tender face is slightly red after being exposed to the sun every day, but after one night, it will be fine the next day.
Brother Jiu stretched out his hands and rubbed his waist.
The car ride is so tiring.
He persisted for five and a half days, but finally couldn't hold on anymore and decided to start changing horses tomorrow.
Just now he asked He Yuzhu to dig through things, also to protect himself from the sun.
"Then you continue to show off, I don't want to become a black charcoal..."
Brother Jiu grunted and replied.
The tenth brother was listening, and felt it was strange, and said: "Brother Ninth, let's not be afraid of the sun. If it gets dark, it will get dark. Just cover it up in winter and it will come over."
Brother Jiu shook his head and said, "That won't work. Your sister-in-law doesn't like it because it looks dirty."
The tenth elder brother: "..."
Seeing Brother Ninth's discomfort, Brother Ten couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Brother Ninth, why don't we walk a hundred and twenty miles starting tomorrow? There's still enough time."
The ninth elder brother turned over and sat up, looked at the tenth elder brother and said, "Are you stupid? Have you forgotten that there is a big day in the middle of the year?"
Brother Ten blinked, mid-March...
"Wanshou Festival..."
He looked confused, he had never thought of this before.
The ninth elder brother shook his head, remembering what the fourth elder brother had warned him, he changed his words and said: "From now on, you will treat matters related to Khan Ama as a big deal, and you are not allowed to neglect them. No matter how you feel in your heart, on the surface Your filial piety cannot be compromised."
Whether one is filial or not is a matter of deeds and disregard of one's heart.
Even if he doesn't ask for anything in return, Khan Ama knows it well.
The tenth elder brother was silent for a while, nodded and said: "Brother understands."
Brother Jiu hummed softly and said: "My brother's words are all good words. Don't do it reluctantly. Don't think that you will be safe with the promise of the county king. Wasn't the third brother also a county king before? To say that he will be demoted is just a word from Khan Ama. We need to be more filial in the beginning, and even if something goes wrong in the future, Khan Ama thought that this son was filial, so he passed by without raising his hand. Like the third child, he just played with his words, and even we can't be fooled. In the past, were you able to fool Khan Amma?"
The tenth elder brother smiled and said: "I listen to the ninth elder brother!"
Brother Jiu said proudly: "That's how it should be. Who calls me the elder brother? I'm still so smart!"
The tenth brother was very cooperative and listened to his boasting, but before leaving, he remembered what happened in the first month and told He Yuzhu: "Tomorrow, change the ninth brother into thick pants, and put two more layers on the saddle..."
Don't get caught again and suffer tomorrow.
He Yuzhu agreed.
Brother Jiu waved his hands in disgust and said: "Let's go, let's go, stop nagging, I'm a kid..."
Brother Ten came out of his room and saw Gao Bin coming with the post.
"Master Ten..."
Gao Bin immediately stood up with his hands folded and bowed to say hello.
"Whose post?"
Brother Ten glanced at his hand and asked.
"The prefect of Jinan is here."
Gao Bin replied respectfully.
The prefect is from the fourth rank and is an official of one parent, but it is nothing in front of the prince's elder brother.
You must know that among the accompanying guards, the two first-class guards are all third-class guards, and the six second-class guards are fourth-class guards, all of whom are higher than the prefect.
However, the tenth brother followed Gao Bin in, wanting to see what the ninth brother would do.
"People are here, right outside?"
Brother Jiu looked at Bai Tie and asked.
Gao Bin said: "Just wait outside."
Brother Jiu frowned after hearing this and said, "Didn't it mean that the Shandong Governor's Yamen is also stationed in Jinan and no one came there?"
You must know that the inns along the way are not only under the jurisdiction of the military department, but also under the jurisdiction of the local government.
They sent people over half a day in advance to prepare for their arrival, so it made sense for them to report to the Yamen at the inn.
Gao Bin shook his head and said, "I didn't see anyone coming."
The ninth elder brother had a look of displeasure on his face and complained to the tenth elder brother: "Are you looking down on us two bald princes? If the eldest brother comes over, will they dare to be so negligent?"
After that, he put down the post and wanted to give instructions to Gao Bin.
The tenth elder brother hurriedly said: "Ninth brother, why don't we see you again!"
Brother Jiu looked at him and said, "Is there anything wrong?"
The tenth prince thought for a while and said: "I'm afraid it will become a common practice and disturb the local area. If we see people wasting time, if the news reaches the imperial court, Khan Amma will also be unhappy."
Jinan Prefecture is next to Yanzhou Prefecture, and further south are Suzhou Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, and Yangzhou Prefecture. If you meet the Jinan Prefecture, other prefects will also come to greet you.
Brother Ninth felt unhappy, threw the greeting note aside, and told Gao Bin: "Just say that I and Tenth Master were in a hurry to see the driver, so they disappeared this time. I'd be sorry to bother him."
Gao Bin went down to deliver the message.
Brother Jiu touched his chin and said with regret, "I wonder if there is Cheng Yi..."
Brother Ten knew that he was not short of money, so he just said it, smiled and went back to his room.
Shi Fujin watched him come back, stepped forward and pulled him and said, "Why have you been gone for so long? Didn't you say you were sending someone to buy a bunch of meat?"
Brother Ten said: "I'm going to see Brother Ninth. Brother Ninth is tired. Don't worry, we've sent people to buy the meat."
Shi Fujin lowered his voice and said: "Then what should we do next? Brother Jiu doesn't seem to be strong, and he seems to be tossing."
Otherwise, people wouldn't be worried. The Yue family sent people, and my brother's family also sent people.
Even Brother Jiu's brother-in-law looks more like an adult than him.
Brother 10 said hurriedly: "Don't say such things in the future. Brother 9 just looks thin but is in good health."
Having said this, he was a little worried about his wife and said, "I have been traveling for several hours every day. Isn't it too tiring?"
Shi Fujin smiled and shook his head and said: "I'm not tired, I'm not tired. When we entered Beijing from Abahai, we walked faster than this!"
After a while, I bought the meat back.
This is what Brother Ten specially ordered to give everyone extra food.
About ten people went there, and we visited several places and brought back a few pots for extra meals.
This is a famous specialty in Jinan, which is a large piece of soy sauce roasted pork. It is said that it comes from the sworn alliance between Liu Guan and Zhang during the Three Kingdoms period.
Although it sounds far-fetched, the meat tastes really good. Everyone ate it deliciously with the white rice prepared in the inn kitchen...
(End of chapter)
